Dutch telecom KPN to sell Germany's E-Plus

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch telecommunications company Royal KPN NV says it has agreed to sell its German mobile unit E-Plus to Telefonica Deutschland, the German arm of Spain's Telefonica, for 5 billion euros ($6.58 billion).

KPN said Tuesday it will also receive a 17.6 percent stake in Telefonica Deutschland as part of the deal, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

The announcement came as KPN said its second-quarter net profit fell to 108 million euros ($142.19 million), down 68 percent from the same period a year ago due to tough market conditions for its mobile phone operations and an ongoing decline in fixed-line services.

KPN announced its sales in the second quarter dropped 8 percent to 2.9 billion euros ($3.82 billion) from 3.2 billion euros in 2012's second quarter.